


Contamination

by armethaumaturgy



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Alterasia!Esper, Angst, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, M/M, Multiple Endings, mental breakdowns, you either get the fluff or you get the gore theres no between
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:18:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5097128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armethaumaturgy/pseuds/armethaumaturgy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Back to square one, but with less El energy and less stamina, Esper instead chooses to explore the tunnel. With a bit of luck, he might find another exit.<br/>Oh, who is he kidding. He's never been lucky.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>Multiple ends.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Curiosity killed the cat

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this work has two ending, a bad and a good one. Feel free to read them in whatever order you want to/don't want to. Tw's for the bad end include violence, character death, body horror. The good ending includes fluff and some mentions of abandonment issues.

Esper was curious. The transporting tunnels winding all through Altera were a Nasod knowledge mine, and it might have made him stay a little behind the others. He saw a dark tunnel that looked different, and when he called out to the others, he didn't get a response.

He told them where he was going, so if they didn't come back, there must've been something interesting further in, but Esper's curiosity was already piqued, so he couldn't just leave this hidden passage.

His Dynamo lights up the space in front of him, but it's not nearly enough to be able to see more than a few feet. He steps over rails and rubble, aiming for the brighter exit on the other side.

When he emerges from the passage, he finds himself in the middle of another tunnel. The air is filled with a peculiar smell, something eroded and earthy.

He looks to the left - the rails disappear into the darkness far away. He looks to the right - there's a Nasod robot about to cut him in two.

He automatically jumps away, sighing to himself when the Nasod's metallic arm hits the ground where he had been standing not a moment ago. He aims his Dynamo and prepares an energy ball.

The whole tunnel shakes as he lets it loose. The energy short circuits the Nasod, but rocks start falling down from the ceiling. Esper hides himself in a small low-gravity field and waits out the avalanche.

The entrance to the passage connecting this tunnel to the one he came from is fully covered by the end of it, a pile of giant rocks blocking the small hole. Esper curses, trying to pull them loose. It doesn't work.

"Hey!" he cries out, but something catches his attention.

From his peripheral vision, he sees something move. He whips in that direction, standing shell shocked as he watches the short circuited Nasod rising to its feet again.

"What the…" he mutters in disbelief. The lights inside the Nasod blink on again and he staggers towards Esper.

Esper blasts him away with more energy balls, but the Nasod just keeps standing up each time.

"Stay down!" Esper yells at it, this time making sure he couldn't get up at all. Static noise fills the space and Esper kicks the pieces by his feet for good measure. Thankfully, they stay still.

He didn't notice before, since his attention was directed towards the fact that the robot wanted his dead, but now that the threat is gone, he notices something off about the Nasod. There is something green stuck to its faded surface.

Esper cautiously yanks it off to inspect it closer. It seems to be a plant, and its roots must've been attached to the Nasod's El shard, because they came out all glowy. Esper chucks the plant away and turns back to the pile of rocks.

"Masi?" he calls out again, "Lusa!" His only response, however, is his own voice, echoing in the giant cavern.

He tries moving the stones again. It still doesn't work.

"Masi! Lusa!" A manic edge creeps into his voice and he desperately tries to yell loud enough for the others to hear him.

They'll come back. He _knows_ they will.

He sits on the ground, leaning back against the offending pile and picking at the few blades of grass - or whatever it is - growing by his side. Here and there, he cries out, only ever hearing himself.

He's not sure how long he just sits there, he doesn't have a clock or any other means by which to tell the time, but it feels like an eternity. He can vividly remember what it felt like to spend years in the Nasod library, with only the books to keep him company. This feels so much worse, if only because now he knows that the presence of other people can be pleasant. Back then, he didn't have anything he missed, except his mom. And now, he's all alone without Lusa or Masi and it's so much worse.

He doesn't even realize that tears have been flowing down his cheeks freely, but they keep dripping from his chin and wetting his knees.

He tries freeing himself once more; he makes the Dynamos create a low-gravity field, but that's as far as he gets. The rocks are all piled in such a disarray that he can't just pick one and move it without the others. When he comes to this conclusion, he doesn't hesitate to cry again.

Back to square one, but with less El energy and less stamina, Esper instead chooses to explore the tunnel. With a bit of luck, he might find another exit.

Oh, who is he kidding. He's never been lucky.

All he finds in the winding tunnel are Nasods, same as the one that attacked him before. He has to destroy all of them, because they keep getting up if he just disables them. It reminds him of zombies, but they're robots, they shouldn't be capable of this.

All of them have the same plant growing on them. It's the plant controlling them, he realizes slightly belatedly. There are tens, maybe hundreds of them growing all over the place.

Their spores float in the air, latching onto anything they can find. Some even try to land on Esper, but he brushes them off easily. They let off a very weird stench, and Esper doubles over in a coughing fit every now and then.

But he finds nothing in the tunnel. No sign of an exit anywhere, nor anything indicating that he could bust through a wall and get somewhere.

"Lusa! Masi! Guys!!" he tries again, dirty gloves clawing at the rocks that keep him trapped. "Please! Masi! Come on! Lusa!"

But no one comes.

* * *

"This is all your fault!" Lusa growls, punching stone wall. Without the plasma armor, he breaks his knuckles and blood drips down, staining his sleeve.

It's not Mastermind's fault. He, of all people, knows that. It's both of their faults.

That stupid plant would've waited. He knew he had heard Esper calling out, but no, they had to go forward instead. Curse their stupid curiosity!

"Fuck!" he curses, for the umpteenth time. "Goddammit, we're so dumb!"

Mastermind doesn't answer him, but he knows he thinks the same. Instead, he taps away on his holo monitors. His brows are furrowed and it doesn't look like he's having much luck with whatever he's doing.

"I can't scan the whole tunnel," he says finally, his hand curling into a fist mid-tapping. "I don't have enough power."

Lusa had seen Mastermind frustrated before, even angry - since it isn't so hard to push the genius' buttons -, but he had never seen him like this. He was glaring at the screen, lips parted to show is grit teeth. His whole body was trembling with badly-restrained frustration. Frustration at the fact that he is powerless. Literally.

"Use the El shards from my Dynamo," Lusa says, not hesitating a moment.

"I can't dismantle your Dynamo!" Mastermind protests. "What'll you do without it?"

Lusa glares at him pointedly. "I don't fucking care about the Dynamo! We need to find Esper! Use. The. Fucking. El. Shards. From. My. Dynamo."

Mastermind’s shoulders relax. He nods.


	2. Mended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The **good end**.

“Can’t you hurry it up?” Lusa groans as Mastermind keeps tapping his holographic screens. His Dynamos are flying left and right as they scan the whole place.

“This place is huge, even with your Dynamo’s El shards, I don’t have enough power to make this any quicker,” Mastermind snaps, not looking up from the generated map even as he glares.

Lusa jumps up, dusting off his pants. “I can’t just sit here!” he says, brows drawing together. “I’m gonna look around again.”

He gets an almost inaudible hum from Mastermind as he heads down the tunnel. He bites his bottom lip as he looks around. They were so stupid. So, so stupid.

“Esper!” he cries, for what feels like the milionth time today. God, let him be okay. “Esper!”

He kicks the remains of broken Nasods as he goes, but it does nothing to eleviate his frustration. He can’t go very far since he doesn’t have a source of light; his Dynamo is still by Mastermind, powerless, but at least he doesn’t have to worry about Nasods.

On his way, he finds a small crack in the stone wall, just wide enough for him to squeeze through. He holds his breath in anticipation; maybe this is where Esper had gone through? It was certainly easy to overlook. But his hopes were crushed when the small passage abruptly ended in a pile of boulders.

“Fuck,” he mutters, clicking his tongue. It really felt like he’d been onto something here! He turns on his heel to search further when something makes him stop.

A faint sound, so quiet, in fact, that he thinks he imagined it at first, echoes from behind the rocks. He goes rigid, straining his ears for it. There it is again, a voice. It sounds like it’s… crying?

“Esper?” Lusa cries out, “Esper!” He doesn’t get a reply, but he definitely hears another, choked sob. “Esper, wait there!!”

He’s about one hundred and ten percent sure that he had never run as fast as right then. Mastermind looks up from his screens when he hears his frantic footsteps. There’s a question at the tip of his tongue, but Lusa yanks him up and, not skipping a beat, tugs him right back to the small crevice.

“Lusa, what’re you—?” Mastermind protests, but Lusa’s physical strenght gives him an edge and the genius is easily pulled forward.

“I found him!”

“What? Really?”

“Yes!” Lusa stresses out, and there are no further protests from Mastermind.

They have to go through the crevice one at a time since it’s so narrow, but Mastermind’s Dynamos already prepare for an attack. “Particle Accelerator!” Mastermind pulls his hand back and sends the energy forward, easily breaking through the cave-in.

The crevice is filled with a disgusting and —probably— poisonous smell almost instantly, and they both cough simultaneously. “Fuck, what is this?” Lusa mutters, but he jumps over the leftover rocks and into the other tunnel. Mastermind is right behind him, holding a hem of his coat over his mouth and nose.

“Esper!” Lusa calls out, looking around for the counterpart. He can hear the crying clearer now — definitely Esper.

“Lusa,” Mastermind tugs on his sleeve and points right of the pile. There, huddled in the corner with his head on his knees, is Esper, shoulders shaking wildly as he is wracked by sobs.

They’re in front of him in no time, kneeling down and gently shaking him. “Esper, hey, come on, let’s get out of here,” Mastermind says softly, but Esper doesn’t react to the touch, only hugs his knees closer to his chest.

“Hey,” Lusa tries, gently prying Esper’s hands, which are digging into his thighs, away. Again, Esper doesn’t respond, just digs harder. Blood dribbles down from between his fingers. His whole body shakes harder.

Lusa and Mastermind exchange a look. Mastermind shrugs off his coat and drapes it over Esper’s shoulders. “Can you carry him?” he asks Lusa, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah.” Lusa slips a hand underneath Esper’s knees and his back and hoists him up, cradling the slighter body close to his chest. “Let’s get out of here,” he says. Esper curls up in his hold, coughing harshly. Blood stains the front of Lusa’s shirt. “Pronto.”

Mastermind’s Dynamos light up the way as they go, back out of the main tunnel. Somewhere along the way, Esper stirs, actually stirs, coming back to himself. He snuggles closer to Lusa’s chest and breathes the scent clinging to Mastermind’s coat deeply.

“Masi…” he mutters quietly. He opens his eyes properly, blinks away the awful feeling of his eyelids sticking together. He focuses on Lusa’s face, which he can see only partially from his position. “Lusa…”

Lusa glances down at him, lips twisting up into a relieved smile. “You okay?” he asks, fixing his hold on the time traveler. Mastermind also looks back at them. Though he doesn’t show it as much as Lusa, he’s obviously relieved as well.

Esper rests his head against his upper arm and starts to sob again. Lusa panicks and stops, setting him down. “Shit, what’s wrong?”

Esper doesn’t let him go and ends up fisting his vest, face pressed into the crook of his neck as his shoulders shake. Lusa winds his arms around him, patting his back comfortingly.

“Shh, you’re okay. Everything’s okay now,” he coos, looking at Mastermind for any explanation.

The genius just shrugs and comes closer, wrapping his arms around Esper from behind. Held like this, Esper relaxes after a while. Tears still roll down his cheeks, but he’s no longer shaking.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Can you talk?” Mastermind questions, trying to step away, but one of Esper’s hands holds onto his shirt tightly.

“You…” Esper rasps, voice broken and nasaly from all the crying. He coughs to clear his throat. “You came back…”

Mastermind and Lusa exchange another look. Lusa grips Esper tighter. “Of course we did,” he says, trying to convey how much he meant to two of them through the hug, but it didn’t feel like enough. “Fuck, Esper, I don’t think we could even live without you anymore.”

Esper lets them go in favor of wiping the tears off his cheeks. Mastermind’s coat almost slips off his shoulders, but he catches it before it can. He breathes deeply but quickly and looks at Lusa and then at Masi. “Thank you, I…” he trails off, pursing his lips and staring down at the ground.

“This won’t happen ever again,” Mastermind assures him, reaching out and grabbing his hand. His cheeks are tinted a faint shade of red, but he doesn’t let go. Lusa follows suit with a grin.

“Thank you…” Esper repeats himself quietly. He squeezes the hands and smiles softly. There seems to be more he wants to say, but it can wait. It can wait until they’re out of this hellhole.


	3. Alterasia Type-DE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The **bad end**.

Mastermind taps away on his screens even as his Dynamos fly all over the tunnel. Lusa's Dynamos lie on the ground by their feet, lifeless without the shards powering them.

The scan results project onto the holographic screens and Lusa peeks over Mastermind's shoulder to watch them. Mastermind has a weird icon set that he doesn't quite understand.

It takes hours and Lusa keeps punching the ground where he sits, unheeding of the dirt getting in his still raw wounds. He's on the edge and can't believe how Mastermind can maintain his calm.

"There!" he says, jabbing his finger at one of the screens. Lusa perks up.

Mastermind is already on his feet, dust rising as he runs down the tunnel, Dynamos tailing right behind him. Lusa follows, catching up to the mumbling genius fairly quickly. "You got him?"

"Yes," Mastermind replies curtly, eyes still glued to the pink outlines of their surroundings. "He should be somewhere… here…"

They inspect the wall and find the small crack in it. They don't fit inside both, so they have to go one at a time, but it doesn't much matter, since they are stopped short only a few meters in.

"It's caved in," Mastermind observes.

"You think that was already here or it happened after Esper went through?" Lusa cracks his knuckles.

"Hard to say. We need to get through it."

"Easy," Lusa grins, pulling his fist back. "Particle Acc-” He stops midway, realizing rather late that he doesn’t have his Dynamos. Red creeps up his cheeks and he steps away. “You do it.”

Mastermind only nods, and for once, Lusa is thankful. If it were Esper, he’d’ve been laughing on the floor already. “Particle Accelerator!” Mastermind exclaims, releasing the energy after a moment. The whole place shakes and dust flies everywhere, but the pile of rocks now features a hole.

They climb the rocks and emerge in another tunnel. The air is different, somehow much staler and Lusa automatically scrunches his nose. Mastermind keeps looking at the screens and comparing them with what he can see.

“There,” he says, pointing at a dark end of the tunnel. They follow the rail tracks running through the middle until they reach the dark part. Mastermind’s Dynamos light up to allow them to see.

The dead end is overgrown with plants, similar to the one they saw back in the main tunnel. These ones seem different, though. Small Alterasia plants grow on every available patch of dirt. The smell is much worse here.

“Esper!” Mastermind calls out, finally turning the holo screens off. “Esper, where are you?”

Something moves from the corner, from the shade cast by the plants. It stands up, wobbling slightly as it does. It moves forward slowly, steps uncertain and slow as it enters the illuminated area.

Lusa gasps. It’s Esper.

His normally pale skin is deathly white and his eyes are black and look too glossy even as they focus on them. But that’s not the worst of it. There’s something on his back— An Alterasia flower sticks out from his suit, in full bloom with its red and yellow. Its stems circle Esper’s chest and abdomen way too tightly to not be painful, but Esper doesn’t even seem to notice their presence.

“Esper…?”

His eyes are trained to the two of them, even as he tilts to the left a little bit. They narrow sharply. “You!” he yells suddenly. His voice sounds nothing like normally; it’s too raspy and throaty and must hurt like hell. Again, Esper makes no indication to be in any kind of pain. “You left me here!”

And he moves.

He moves faster than either of them can follow. He crashes into Mastermind and knocks him onto the ground. Lusa winces at the painful snap he can hear. Esper’s hands wind around Mastermind’s neck and he stares down with those lifeless, dark eyes. There’s nothing but hate in them.

“You left me,” he repeats, without any change from his deadpan. “You left me, you left me, left me, left me left me left me left…” His fingers tighten with each word, and Mastermind struggles for breath, claws on Esper’s hands and leaves bloody marks in his wake. Esper doesn’t even flinch as the black blood dribbles from his skin. “All alone.”

Mastermind looks at him in panic, his wide eyes teary. Lusa, do something! they beg, but there isn’t enough time. Esper’s shaking hands tighten even further and another sickening snap resonates in the tunnel.

An ear-piercing scream resonates in the closed space.

Mastermind’s eyes lose their light.

Esper’s hands leave his neck, but he leans down and yanks Mastermind’s slack jaw open. His lips crash against Mastermind’s and he pulls away after a few moments, turning to look at Lusa. Black droop drips down his chin, mixed with something green.

With horror, Lusa realizes those are _spores_.

“Together,” Esper mutters, his eyes fixated on Lusa. He stands up, feet wobbly but Lusa isn’t fooled this time. “You left me. But we’ll be together.” The sound of his voice gets steadily worse the more he talks. He charges for Lusa and he’s too fast for Lusa to stop him without his Dynamo. He’s knocked to the ground, his head aching where it got hit.

Thin fingers he knows so well curl around his throat, tight enough to cut off his trachea. Esper looks down at him and Lusa wishes he could see something in those eyes of his, but there’s nothing. Nothing but hatred.

The hands tighten even as Lusa reaches up to push him away. It doesn’t work, Esper’s whole weight is coordinated by the plant.

“We’ll be together...” Esper leans down to kiss him, too — or, more accurately, smash their mouths together. Lusa isn’t sure if he thought he was dead already. He feels Esper’s tongue worming its way into his mouth and he wants to puke. A horrid taste of decay and bitter plant drowns his taste buds and he chokes on Esper’s spit.

His vision goes black as Esper’s fingers break something in his throat and he can’t even cry out. He feels something wet hitting his cheeks as his body goes slack.

Esper stands up, the plant on his back making him stagger for a bit. He looks down at the bodies. Masi’s chest is already spurting a thick stem. Esper’s lips curl up as something warm floods his insides.

“... _forever_ …”


End file.
